Partially filled, liquid containing ampules are provided by the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in very great quantities. Typical contents of such ampules may include iodine, adhesive products, topical medications, smelling salts, other disinfectant liquids, perfumes, colognes and the like. Such ampules may be enclosed in a safety shield (i.e. plastic) sleeve with a porous, applicator tip or received in the handle of a pad type applicator. A moderate pinch on the sleeve or the applicator will break the ampule, permitting the product to flow through the applicator and be neatly dispensed. Many types of applicators have been designed around pinchable ampules. Adhesive products, topical medications, mailable perfume and cologne samplers and numerous other products have been adapted to such uses. Any liquid produce that flows freely and calls for protection, single use convenience and controlled, non-messy application typically may employ such ampules.
In typical ampule fabrication or formulation, the ampule container or vial, with an open top, is transmitted to a filling station to receive the desired quantity of filling product or liquid. Thereafter, the open filling end is closed and sealed. One such method of closing and sealing employs heating (by a gas flame) the open end of the ampule and pressing the heated glass upon itself while rotating the vial to make the end seal. In the steps of initial fabrication of the open end fillable vials, storage, handling, filling and sealing thereof, flaws and damage can occur to the structure. Specifically, for example, without limitation, in the glass itself, at any point, there may be weak points or stress cracks. In the original sealing of a first end of the vial, weakness, flaws, stress cracks and the like may be produced. Finally, in the final sealing after filling errors or flaws of material or process may cause the ampules to be of lesser strength and integrity than desired. Ampules may be closed by other means and methods.
Accordingly, manufacturers of these tiny containers, vials and ampules take steps to attempt to locate flaws in the ampules before such are packaged and shipped. Despite these processes and attempted safeguards, it is not at all unusual to have an approximate 5% breakage in transit, shipping and storage. This is quite objectionable.
In the process of inspection and testing, typical procedures might involve fluorescent dye tests to detect cracks and flaws in the glass and dropping test where ampules are dropped on metal plates to see if they will break. In the former case, the tests are time consuming and require special cleaning. Additionally, the fluorescent dye testing requires clear glass and this is not desirable in certain medicinal and drug applications where light may deteriorate the product. Thus, the dye tests find it difficult to detect cracks in brown or amber bottles which might give greater product protection against light. In the dropping tests, uniformity of results is difficult to obtain and the quantity of flawed vessels, vials or ampules which may be detected by this method is roughly approximately one half percent as opposed to the five or six percent (or greater) actually flawed. Clearly, various qualities of materials, methods of manufacture, methods of filling, sealing and handling may vary the quantity of flawing for given vials and products.
Additionally, after filling and sealing, it is almost universally necessary that effective cleaning processes be applied to vials and ampules before they are packed and passed into commerce.
In a typical prior art usage involving a large production flow through of individual small ampule containers, a number of stations, say four, each with a sink for an initial water bath, are provided, with two people at each side. The vials or ampules come from the filling and sealing process and are dumped into the sinks in a soap and water mixture. They are moved around in this mixture by the people at the sink and then lifted out and put into a separate rinse tank. Since the vials or ampules are only partially filled and, further, sealed, they normally and naturally float with the filled end down and the opposite, empty, air or gas filled end up. Full submergence in cleaning and rinsing is required.
From the rinse tank, the vials are typically transferred to large area tubes having paper towels thereon. Because of the problem of ampule integrity, there is additionally provided on each of these tables a metal sheet, on which hand full of vials and ampules are dropped. A certain percentage break. Then the intact vials are taken through a second drying step and passed into a storage basket before packaging. With this process, as previously mentioned, approximately one half of one percent of the total ampules are broken, but an additional five percent will break in shipment, which is very objectionable. Thus it may be seen that this is not an effective mode of both cleaning and quality controlling the sealed vials.